COUNTRY INVITATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES:

WHOS IN, WHOS OUT?

The Community of Democracies is an association of democratic states dedicated to
strengthening democratic values and institutions at home and abroad. Led by a
Convening Group made up of ten governments (Chile (Chair), Czech Republic,
India, Mali, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea and the United
States), the Community of Democracies is the only global forum for democratic and
democratizing states to coordinate common approaches to democracy promotion.
For the purpose of determining which governments to invite to the biennial
ministerial meetings, the Convening Group relies on the Criteria for Participation
<http://www.demcoalition.org/pdf/CD_participation_criteria.pdf>
paper
which
delineates the democratic standards countries must adhere to in order to be invited
as a Participant. According to the Criteria Paper, governments that do not meet the
criteria may be invited as Observers if they are in a transition to democracy and are
making concrete steps toward meeting the standards for participation.
In Seoul, all the member states of the Community of Democracies decided that - In
accordance with the principles articulated in the Warsaw Declaration, the
Community of Democracies, through as wide consultations as possible with its
participants, will not include those countries where there is currently a disruption of
constitutional rule or severe persistent erosion of or lack of essential elements of
democracy. The essential elements of democracy are defined as being:

respect for human rights civil, political, economic, social and cultural
including freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of
religion and conscience

access to and free exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law

holding of periodic free and fair elections based on secret balloting and
universal suffrage monitored by independent election authorities

freedom of association including the right to form independent political

parties

separation of powers, especially an independent judiciary; and

constitutional subordination of all state institutions, including the

military, to the legally-constituted civilian authority.

Comparison between Invitations Issued to Santiago and Recommendations

made in DCP Country Assessments Report
As part of the invitation process for the Santiago Ministerial meeting, the Democracy
Coalition Project (DCP), in conjunction with Freedom House, prepared a Country
Assessments
report
<http://www.demcoalition.org/pdf/Country_Assessments_CoD_Invitation_Process.p
df> as part of the non-governmental contribution to the Invitation Process. The
Country Assessments report, drawing on a wide variety of reporting, analyzed the
performance of 30 countries against the standards for participation the Community
of Democracies set for itself.
Of the 30 countries discussed in the DCP report, the Convening Group agreed with
the recommendations for 14 countries. With respect to the remaining 16 countries
the Convening Group invited 9 Participants and 7 Observers; this is in contrast to the
Country Assessments report which recommended of those same 16 countries, 8 be
invited as Observers and 8 as Non-invitees. In particular, of the 9 countries the
Convening Group chose to invite as Participants, the Country Assessments report
recommended 8 should be invited as Observers and 1 as a Non-invitee.
Furthermore, of the 7 countries the Convening Group invited as Observers, the
Country Assessments report recommended those countries not be invited at all. The
most glaring gap between the DCP recommendations and the Convening Group
decisions was the case of Russia which, despite the Country Assessments
recommending it not be invited, was nevertheless invited as a full Participant.

Comparison between Invitations Issued for the 2005 Santiago Ministerial

meeting and the 2002 Seoul Ministerial meeting
There is a clear trend during the most recent invitation process for the Convening
Group to upgrade countries from the category they were previously invited, whilst
there was clear resistance to downgrading any countries for the Santiago Ministerial.
In particular there was a greater tendency to upgrade countries from Observer status
to Participant status for Santiago than at Seoul (five governments have been
upgraded for Santiago as compared to zero for Seoul). Meanwhile, the Convening
Group failed to downgrade any governments from Participant status to Observer
status for the Santiago ministerial, as compared to 2002 when they downgraded 12
governments to a new Observer category not activated for the first meeting in
Warsaw. A full comparison between the invitations issued for the Santiago
Ministerial meeting and the Seoul Ministerial meeting is detailed below.

Three governments have been upgraded from Non-invitees (Seoul) to Participants

(Santiago). They are:

Afghanistan
Kenya
Zambia

This can be compared to 2002 when 4 governments (Bahrain; East Timor; Ghana;
and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)) were upgraded from Non-invitees to
the Warsaw Ministerial meeting to Participants in Seoul.
Five governments have been upgraded from Observers (Seoul) to Participants
(Santiago). They are:

Fiji
Georgia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Ukraine

This compares to 2002 when no governments were upgraded from Observers to

the Warsaw Ministerial meeting to Participant in Seoul as the category only came
into effect for the Seoul ministerial meeting.
Three governments have been upgraded from Non-invitees (Seoul) to Observers
(Santiago). They are:

Djibouti
Gambia
Iraq

This compares to 2002 when 7 governments (Burkina Faso; Cote dIvoire; Fiji;
Malaysia; Oman; Sierra Leone; and Singapore) were upgraded from Non-invitees
to the Warsaw Ministerial meeting to Observers in Seoul.
One government has been downgraded from Participant (Seoul) to Non-invitee
(Santiago). It is:

Nepal

This is the same as 2002 when one government (Kenya) was downgraded from
Participant to the Warsaw Ministerial to a Non-invitee in Seoul.
One government was downgraded from Observer (Seoul) to Non-invitee (Santiago).
It is:

Cote dIvoire

This compares to 2002 when no governments were downgraded from Observer

to the Warsaw Ministerial to a Non-invitee in Seoul.

Zero governments have been downgraded from Participants (Seoul) to Observers

(Santiago).
This compares to 2002, when 12 governments (Algeria; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Egypt;
Georgia; Haiti; Kuwait; Madagascar; Qatar; Tunisia; Ukraine; and Yemen) were
downgraded from Participants to the Warsaw Ministerial to Observers in Seoul. It
should be noted again that, for the Warsaw meeting, no observer category existed.
NOTE: Any country not listed denotes status as a non-invitee for all three ministerial
meetings.

INVITATIONS TO SANTIAGO MINISTERIAL MEETING

COUNTRY

WARSAW

SEOUL

SANTIAGO

MOVEMENT
FROM SEOUL
TO

SANTIAGO

AFGHANISTAN

Non-invitee

Non-invitee

Participant

ALBANIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

ANDORRA

Invited

Participant

Participant

ANTIGUA &
BARBUDA

Invited

Participant

Participant

ALGERIA

Participant

Observer

Observer

ARGENTINA

Participant

Participant

Participant

ARMENIA

Participant

Observer

Observer

AUSTRALIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

AUSTRIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

AZERBAIJAN

Participant

Observer

Observer

BAHAMAS

Invited

Participant

Participant

BAHRAIN

Not invited

Participant

Participant

BANGLADESH

Participant

Participant

Participant

BARBADOS

Invited

Participant

Participant

BELGIUM

Participant

Participant

Participant

BELIZE

Participant

Participant

Participant

BENIN

Participant

Participant

Participant

BOLIVIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA

Participant

Participant

Participant

BOTSWANA

Participant

Participant

Participant

BRAZIL

Participant

Participant

Participant

BULGARIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

BURKINA FASO

Not Invited

Observer

Observer

CANADA

Participant

Participant

Participant

CAPE VERDE

Participant

Participant

Participant

CHILE

Participant

Participant

Participant

COLOMBIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

COSTA RICA

Participant

Participant

Participant

COUNTRY

WARSAW

SEOUL

SANTIAGO

MOVEMENT
FROM SEOUL
TO

SANTIAGO

COTE DIVOIRE

Not invited

Observer

Non-invitee

CROATIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

CYPRUS

Participant

Participant

Participant

CZECH REPUBLIC

Participant

Participant

Participant

DENMARK

Participant

Participant

Participant

DJIBOUTI

Non-invitee

Non-invitee

Observer

DOMINICA

Participant

Participant

Participant

DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC

Participant

Participant

Participant

EAST TIMOR

Not Invited

Participant

Participant

ECUADOR

Participant

Participant

Participant

EGYPT

Participant

Observer

Observer

EL SALVADOR

Participant

Participant

Participant

ESTONIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

FIJI

Not Invited

Observer

Participant

FINLAND

Participant

Participant

Participant

FRANCE

Participant

Participant

Participant

GAMBIA

Non-invitee

Non-invitee

Observer

GEORGIA

Participant

Observer

Participant

GERMANY

Participant

Participant

Participant

GHANA

Not invited

Participant

Participant

GREECE

Participant

Participant

Participant

GRENADA

Invited

Participant

Participant

GUATEMALA

Participant

Participant

Participant

GUYANA

Invited, later
endorsed the
Declaration

Participant

Participant

HAITI

Participant

Observer

Observer

HONDURAS

Participant

Participant

Participant

HUNGARY

Participant

Participant

Participant

ICELAND

Participant

Participant

Participant

COUNTRY

WARSAW

SEOUL

SANTIAGO

MOVEMENT
FROM SEOUL
TO

SANTIAGO

INDIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

INDONESIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

IRAQ

Non-invitee

Non-invitee

Observer

IRELAND

Participant

Participant

Participant

ISRAEL

Participant

Participant

Participant

ITALY

Participant

Participant

Participant

JAMAICA

Invited

Participant

Participant

JAPAN

Participant

Participant

Participant

JORDAN

Participant

Participant

Participant

KENYA

Participant

Not invited

Participant

KIRIBATI

Invited

Participant

Participant

KUWAIT

Participant

Observer

Observer

LATVIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

LEBANON

Invited

Observer

Observer

LESOTHO

Participant

Participant

Participant

LIECHTENSTEIN

Participant

Participant

Participant

LITHUANIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

LUXEMBOURG

Participant

Participant

Participant

MACEDONIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

MADAGASCAR

Participant

Observer

Participant

MALAWI

Participant

Participant

Participant

MALAYSIA

Not Invited

Observer

Participant

MALI

Participant

Participant

Participant

MALTA

Participant

Participant

Participant

MARSHALL ISLAND

Invited

Participant

Participant

MAURITIUS

Participant

Participant

Participant

MEXICO

Participant

Participant

Participant

MICRONESIA

Invited

Participant

Participant

MOLDOVA

Participant

Participant

Participant

MONACO

Participant

Participant

Participant

MONGOLIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

COUNTRY

WARSAW

SEOUL

SANTIAGO

MOVEMENT
FROM SEOUL
TO

SANTIAGO

MOROCCO

Participant

Participant

Participant

MOZAMBIQUE

Participant

Participant

Participant

NAMIBIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

NAURU

Invited

Participant

Participant

NEPAL

Participant

Participant

Non-invitee

NETHERLANDS

Participant

Participant

Participant

NEW ZEALAND

Participant

Participant

Participant

NICARAGUA

Participant

Participant

Participant

NIGER

Participant

Participant

Participant

NIGERIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

NORWAY

Participant

Participant

Participant

OMAN

Not Invited

Observer

Observer

PALAU

Invited

Participant

Participant

PANAMA

Participant

Participant

Participant

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Participant

Participant

Participant

PARAGUAY

Participant

Participant

Participant

PERU

Participant

Participant

Participant

PHILIPPINES

Participant

Participant

Participant

POLAND

Participant

Participant

Participant

PORTUGAL

Participant

Participant

Participant

QATAR

Participant

Observer

Observer

ROMANIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

RUSSIAN

Participant

Participant

Participant

SAINT KITTS &

NEVIS

Invited

Participant

Participant

SAINT LUCIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

SAINT VINCENT AND

THE GRENADINES

Invited

Participant

Participant

SAMOA

Invited

Participant

Participant

SAN MARINO

Invited

Participant

Participant

FEDERATION

COUNTRY

WARSAW

SEOUL

SANTIAGO

MOVEMENT
FROM SEOUL
TO

SANTIAGO

SAO TOME &

PRINCIPE

Participant

Participant

Participant

SENEGAL

Participant

Participant

Participant

SERBIA AND
MONTENEGRO

Non-invitee

Participant

Participant

SEYCHELLES

Participant

Participant

Participant

SIERRA LEONE

Not invited

Observer

Observer

SINGAPORE

Not invited

Observer

Observer

SLOVAKIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

SLOVENIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

SOUTH AFRICA

Participant

Participant

Participant

SOUTH KOREA

Participant

Participant

Participant

SPAIN

Participant

Participant

Participant

SRI LANKA

Participant

Participant

Participant

SURINAME

Invited, later
endorsed the
Declaration

Participant

Participant

SWEDEN

Participant

Participant

Participant

SWITZERLAND

Participant

Participant

Participant

TANZANIA

Participant

Participant

Participant

THAILAND

Participant

Participant

Participant

TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO

Invited

Participant

Participant

TUNISIA

Participant

Observer

Observer

TURKEY

Participant

Participant

Participant

TUVALU

Invited

Participant

Participant

UGANDA

Non-invitee

Non-invitee

Non-invitee

UKRAINE

Participant

Observer

Participant

UNITED KINGDOM

Participant

Participant

Participant

UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA

Participant

Participant

Participant

URUGUAY

Participant

Participant

Participant

(formally Yugoslavia)

COUNTRY

WARSAW

SEOUL

SANTIAGO

MOVEMENT
FROM SEOUL
TO

SANTIAGO

VANUATU

Invited

Participant

Participant

VENEZUELA

Participant

Participant

Participant

YEMEN

Participant

Observer

Observer

ZAMBIA

Non-invitee

Non-invitee

Participant

10